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QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jun 12, 2009 -> 09:46 AM)
So there are some elections in Iran going on.

 

 

Big elections. The country is really run by Ali Khamenei, but these elections can show what direction the country wants to go. I hope Mousavi wins.

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QUOTE (lostfan @ Jun 12, 2009 -> 10:09 AM)
Iran is 8 or 9 hours ahead of EST, so I guess that means we should see the results of this election soon?

 

 

I think because of the massive turnout the polls were staying open later. They are saying its gonna be real close.

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QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Jun 12, 2009 -> 11:18 AM)
I think because of the massive turnout the polls were staying open later. They are saying its gonna be real close.

Yeah, I wonder if it's gonna go to a runoff. It looks like Mousavi's generated a lot of excitement over there.

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Both sides are claiming that they have about 60% of the vote from what I can find. I guess its necessary for some one to have over 50% otherwise they have a second round of voting.

 

Ive read that results may come in on Saturday (I assume Iranian time).

 

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QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Jun 12, 2009 -> 11:35 AM)
So, I dont pay much attention to Iranian politics. Who do we want to win?

Mousavi is pro-Western, it won't change Iran dramatically but the Obama administration's attempts to cool relations with Iran have a much better chance with him rather than Ahmadinejad.

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QUOTE (lostfan @ Jun 12, 2009 -> 10:37 AM)
Mousavi is pro-Western, it won't change Iran dramatically but the Obama administration's attempts to cool relations with Iran have a much better chance with him rather than Ahmadinejad.

Cool, thanks. Obviously I know Ahmadinejad is a wack-job, I didnt know if the other guy was better or not.

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QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jun 12, 2009 -> 10:30 AM)
Both sides are claiming that they have about 60% of the vote from what I can find. I guess its necessary for some one to have over 50% otherwise they have a second round of voting.

 

Ive read that results may come in on Saturday (I assume Iranian time).

From TPM:

Iranians streamed to polling stations on Friday in a hotly contested election and allies of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his main moderate challenger issued rival victory claims.

 

Sadegh Kharazi, a senior supporter of former Prime Minister Mirhossein Mousavi, told Reuters that surveys made by reformers showed that Mousavi was getting about 58-60 percent of the votes.

 

But Ahmadinejad's representative at a supervisory body, Ali Asghar Zarei, said the incumbent was ahead with about the same level of support, the semi-official Mehr News Agency reported.

 

Due to heavy turnout, voting was extended by two hours to 8 p.m. (11:30 a.m. EDT) to allow more people to cast ballots, the Interior Ministry said.

 

Long queues had formed at voting centers and officials said they expected a turnout of about 70 percent or more, approaching the record of nearly 80 percent when reformist Mohammad Khatami swept the 1997 presidential election.

 

Some people said they had waited for more than two hours to cast ballots, both in northern, affluent areas of Tehran where Mousavi draws support and in southern, poorer neighborhoods seen as Ahmadinejad strongholds.

 

High turnout could indicate voting by many pro-reformers who stayed away when Ahmadinejad won four years ago on a pledge to revive the values of the 1979 Islamic revolution. Political analysts have said they expect a close race.

 

A victory for Mousavi might help ease tensions with the West, which is concerned about Tehran's nuclear ambitions, and improve chances of engagement with U.S. President Barack Obama who has talked about a new start in ties with Tehran.

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QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Jun 12, 2009 -> 10:35 AM)
So, I dont pay much attention to Iranian politics. Who do we want to win?

 

Mir Hossein Mousavi. He for one has acknowledged the holocaust. The kids over there seem to really like him.

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QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Jun 12, 2009 -> 11:38 AM)
Cool, thanks. Obviously I know Ahmadinejad is a wack-job, I didnt know if the other guy was better or not.

If he wins, he won't have the ability to change Iran's policies the way Obama changed Bush's policies when he got elected here since the country is still run by the religious council. But he'll still be the president, and he'll still at least have some input.

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QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Jun 12, 2009 -> 10:39 AM)
From TPM:

From the bottom of that article:

Ahmadinejad's election rivals, who also include liberal cleric Mehdi Karoubi and former Revolutionary Guard leader Mohsen Rezaie, have urged the Interior Ministry and Khamenei to ensure there is no vote rigging.

 

Ahmadinejad has ruled out any possibility of fraud.

 

Voting in Tehran alongside his wife, Mousavi said some of his representatives were denied access to polling stations to monitor the process. He also said text messaging, used to reach young voters during the campaign, had been closed down.

 

"I thank all the people for their green presence which created a miracle," he said, referring to the colors worn by his backers who thronged Tehran streets during the campaign.

 

Huh! Must have been a problem with the cell network. Ahmadinejad would never think to rig an election....

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QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jun 12, 2009 -> 11:42 AM)
Well most Western news sources are suggesting Mousavi is more pro-western.

 

But on some issues he still at odds with the west, uranium enrichment (peaceful) and recognition of Israel.

Well, I don't know enough to comment on his stance to Israel, but even Ahmadinejad (after being pressed for a straight answer) said he would recognize Israel if the Palestinians did. At the end of the day this is still Iran, their foreign policy objectives won't change overnight.

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QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jun 12, 2009 -> 08:00 AM)
My lord, people. You are seriously trying to disparage the Dems or Reps as a whole, based on the behaviors of various whack-jobs who happen to use one of the extreme ends of the spectrum as an excuse for their violence?

 

Wow.

 

You should have read my post a few pages ago. The political debate in this country has gotten to the point where if you disagree with someone, they are automatically in the 'far-left' or 'far-right.'

http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?s=...t&p=1919797

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WOW! Neocons root for Ahmadinejad

 

American neoconservatives have often used the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to bolster their case for aggressive action against Iran. So the assumption might be that they would be rooting for Iranians to take care of the problem themselves by electing reformer Mir Hossein Mousavi in today's vote..

 

Instead, they're rooting for the anti-American bogeyman to stay in power.

 

Middle East Forum Director Daniel Pipes said in a speech at the Heritage Foundation that he would vote for Ahmadinejad if he could:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

 

American Enterprise Institute's Michael Rubin told National Review's Kathryn Jean Lopez it might be better for Ahmadinejad to win, because a loss might give Obama the impression that diplomacy was working.

 

Other neocons, worried a shift in power will signal a fresh start relations with Iran, are already deflating a Mousavi win. The same pundits who constantly point out Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial, anti-Semitism, and nuclear ambitions as reasons to confront Iran now argue that the president doesn't matter. Martin Peretz wrote at the New Republic, "We've known for a long time that elected leaders do not carry the weight of those who have been anointed." Ilan Berman seconded at the American Spectator, "Whoever ends up becoming president will have little real power -- and even less influence over Iran's geostrategic direction."

 

In fact, Mousavi does disagree with Ahmadinejad on a key policy point. Unlike the current president, he would back nuclear talks with Iran and United Nations Security Council members.

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QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Jun 12, 2009 -> 08:43 AM)
From the bottom of that article:

 

 

Huh! Must have been a problem with the cell network. Ahmadinejad would never think to rig an election....

Maybe they could have just instituted a more stringent ID requirement.

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conservative columnist S.E. Cupp: It's Obama's fault Letterman called Palin a slutty flight attendant...

During a discussion of David Letterman's joke about Sarah Palin on "Hannity" on Thursday night, conservative columnist S.E. Cupp blamed Obama.

 

Cupp, who is a contributor to the Washington Post and Politico, fumed:

 

"This is the enduring legacy of the Obama campaign. I'm not saying this to be inflammatory, I blame Barack Obama because he allowed his surrogates in the media and Hollywood and everyone else on the left to do this dirty talking for him."

 

Cupp called on Obama to condemn the comments.

 

Hannity agreed with Cupp, adding "It's like a Sista Souljah moment," referring to the infamous scandal in which then-candidate Bill Clinton repudiated the rapper's comments, outraging free-speech advocates but helping him win the votes of conservative Democrats.

 

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QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Jun 12, 2009 -> 11:29 AM)
I vote the election will get rigged. That's just what happens when you have a guy like iImaNutJob running the country.

 

Whether it's even feasible or not, that's the first thing I thought of when the election coverage started picking up earlier this week.

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